


Breakfast and Clubs

by MuddyPuppy



Category: Warehouse 13
Genre: Bering and Wells AU Week, F/F, Gen, Teenagers, artifact mayhem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-21
Updated: 2014-06-22
Packaged: 2018-02-05 13:14:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1819762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuddyPuppy/pseuds/MuddyPuppy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when the Warehouse gang watches an artifact copy of the Breakfast Club that turns them young? Set in a season 4 world where HG came back promptly, as she should have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My contribution for AU Week. No idea where this came from and I really admire those who can write complete substantial works in less than 20k because that is a skill I apparently do not have. This is a bit silly, but hopefully not too much so. Hope you enjoy, next bit should be up tomorrow. (Thank goodness AU week is eternal!)

The relentless blaring alarm alerted Artie to the artifact disturbance and once he’d pinpointed its location his Farnsworth was opened and hailing the presumed culprit with a stock tirade ready to unleash. However when the call was finally, _finally,_ picked up it was obvious that this was going to require some special handling. Especially when a second face joined the one in view and asked what was going on, this one also looking impossibly young and yet so obviously familiar. “What. Did you. Touch?”

It was quite possible the stout pacing man was speaking another language, one better suited to grumbling and harsh consonants, for all the four regressed Warehouse agents could discern.

“Dude, stop throwing stuff around. You’re going to break something… like your back.” The red haired girl didn’t look that different, Artie had to admit. Maybe a couple years younger, but she’d definitely kept her sass about her, if those sardonic words were any indication.

“I wouldn’t have to be doing this if one of you would just tell me what you touched.”

A much younger Pete Lattimer raised his hands in the air defensively. His build was almost unchanged, hair a little longer maybe. It was his face showed the most difference; no stubble or smile lines though that trademark grin still came easily enough. “Why do you keep looking at me? I told you, last thing I remember was a flash and we were all just sitting around in here. Where are we, anyway?”

“He said it was a warehouse of some kind.” Myka Bering, looking all of her sixteen-ish years, spoke up hesitantly from her seated position on the ratty sofa in the ‘Pete Cave’. “Like a storage facility, maybe?”

“It’s definitely got some storage,” Artie agreed absentmindedly, missing Myka’s pleased expression. “Wait, go back to exactly where you were all sitting when you first… woke up.”

Pete and Claudia stopped their perusal of the surroundings and the eccentric man before them and sprawled back to their slouched positions on the floor, visually checking with the others for confirmation. The last to take her seat, also on the sofa, was the criminally attractive form of a young HG Wells, who gracefully sat down, leaning into the arm of the couch while largely ignoring the rest of the room.

Artie observed their positioning, already building a mental diatribe about slacking off in the Warehouse, supposed day off or not. He spun in the direction all four were facing and stalked to the outdated television, eyeing it suspiciously.

“Should we maybe be a bit worried that we’ve been kidnapped and simultaneously developed amnesia or possibly been brain washed?” The girl on the floor stage whispered to the other three.

“I feel like all of this is really familiar, which is weird. Right?” Myka glanced at the person next to her for a second, but the dark haired girl looked positively disinterested in their predicament, not weighing in on either side.

“Nah, I’m getting good vibage all over the place.” Pete dismissed easily, moving from his spot to snag a cream soda from the mini fridge like he’d known what would be inside it already.

“Whatever,” Claudia replied, chipping at her black nail polish with a large eye roll.

“No, it was a good question,” Myka spoke up encouragingly but neither the red haired girl nor the others bothered looking at her or responding, and Myka reflexively pulled her legs up until her knees were tight against her chest.

“You must have been watching something…here we go.” Pushing the eject button on the DVD player Artie took the disc out in his purple gloved hands, nodding as he understood what had happened.

“The Breakfast Club DVD. It’s turned you all into stereotypical teenagers.”

“Umm,” Pete began slowly, “I think I speak for all of us here when I say…what?”

“And you apparently don’t have all your memories either. Just wait… Haha!” The grizzled man cried triumphantly, brandishing the dvd and putting it into a bag in a shower of sparks. His victorious expression only lasted as long as the sparks did for when he looked back up he was met with four Warehouse agents still looking far too youthful and unimpressed for their own good. “Fudge,” he cursed, going back to the drawing board.

 

“So we’re not supposed to be this young? How old are we really?” Myka’s rapid questions matched the group’s pace as they followed Artie up to the office. On the way all four youths kept getting distracted by the sundry of items they passed by, though the older man had already warned them sternly they were not to touch anything on his brief explanation of the Warehouse and what it contained.

“Old enough to work here without violating child labor laws,” was all Artie replied with, not satisfying the inquisitive girl’s questions in the least. They’d reached the office by then and Artie set to the computer immediately, hurriedly typing in the artifact and groaning when no helpful information came forth. “Perfect,” he muttered, heading for the wall of files, “I’m stuck babysitting until I figure this out. Of course Steve would pick this week to go on vacation.”

“I hardly think we’re immature enough to require that level of supervision.” It was the first time they’d heard a sound from the dark haired girl, the accent throwing them a bit, though the confident tone seemed to fit rather well.

“You’d be surprised.” As if proving Artie’s point Pete stumbled back from the self-shuffling deck of cards he’d tried playing solitaire with.

“Woah!”

“Oh great,” Artie moaned, “They’ll be doing that for the next ninety minutes.”

From her newly commandeered spot in front of the computer Claudia started eagerly exclaiming at the different artifacts she could pull up. “Amelia Earhart’s aviation goggles! Jacque Cousteau’s underwater camera! All this stuff is really here? Eek!” She jerked back from the screen with a grimace. “The Chucky doll. Remind me to steer clear of that aisle!”

“So what is it we do here exactly?” Myka asked, watching Artie rifle through stacks of paper. “You said we’re here to collect artifacts and help keep the ones already here in line, but how do we go about that? And how did we all come to be here?” Her eyes darted across the room to Helena who had lost her bored posture and was now leaning over Claudia’s shoulder with apparent interest. “Are there other Warehouses in foreign countries? How did this one come to be in South Dakota anyway? I assume the vast land expanse due to the need for anonymity, but there are plenty of other places-“

Her rambling was cut off as Artie shoved a pile at her. “Here! The faster you read through these, the faster you’ll be turned back and the answers to all your questions will already be known.”

“And you won’t have to bother explaining things to a bunch of children,” HG supplied without turning around and Artie glared at her though he didn’t bother arguing.

It was silent for a blessed moment until Myka set her stack down with a huff. “Okay, but what am I even looking for? And how would a dvd have the ability to regress us physically?”

“Not to mention steal our memories. I mean, we know our names, but that’s about it,” Claudia added curiously.

“Right,” Myka nodded. It’s possible they would have gotten some form of unsatisfactory answer however a shout from the corner stole everyone’s attention. Pete had tried to reclaim the shuffling cards and they were now flinging themselves at him with frightening accuracy, making him weave and dodge his way around the room, finally taking shelter behind Myka’s surprised form.

One of the cards hit her arm, delivering pain akin to a paper cut and she yelped while attempting to move away from Pete’s clinging hands. All the cards were soon fluttering wildly about the room, several tipping over piles of paperwork and attacking the group indiscriminately.

Claudia and HG quickly took refuge under the desk, watching as Myka finally freed herself from the cowering boy only for the momentum to make her crash into a cabinet of files, its contents spilling out everywhere. Before they could recover from that another card hit a soda bottle which, since it was stationed perilously close to the keyboard, spilled all over it.

“How many times have I told you not to leave your drinks so close to the technology?” Artie yelled at Claudia over the din.

“Umm, in my defense I have no idea and it technically wasn’t me. Maybe you should yell at my other self when we’re the right age again,” Claudia pointed out most unhelpfully and the responding glare made her gulp.

“Perhaps we should make a break for it,” HG said, nodding towards the office door and the two crawled speedily for it, shutting it firmly behind them.

“You two go with them,” Artie insisted, noting their attempts at cleaning up were really just mixing up files that had no business being sorted together. “Stay close, stay together and most importantly -”

“Don’t touch anything.” They all chorused together, Pete helping a prone Myka up off the floor, both of them wincing as card after card battered themselves against their bare skin until they too reached the safety beyond the office walls.

“Hazard pay must be off the charts here,” Claudia mused thoughtfully, rubbing a cut on her cheek. She swiveled around when she noticed HG and Pete walking off in different directions. “Hey! Where are you guys going?”

HG kept walking with no indication she’d heard the query but Pete turned around with wide, innocent eyes. “Hey, he said to stay close, not stationary. I’m just going to go poke around a bit.” When Myka opened her mouth he hurried to add, “I know, I know, don’t touch anything. You guys coming or what?”

Myka and Claudia exchanged glances, the former shaking her head, but the redhead made to follow Pete anyway, leaving Myka on the catwalk alone, frowning disapprovingly.

 

 

Despite herself, the lure of current mysterious surroundings drew Myka in and she slowly began exploring. At a certain point the mental warning to stay close to their point of origin was forgotten as the much greater need to know why an entire shelf the length of a football field was needed to solely hold hats became more important. Of course at the end of that aisle were more attention grabbing sights and before long the girl had found herself standing deep in the bowels of the Warehouse, a little guilty and somewhat apprehensive about being lost and alone in such a vast place.

The repetitive sound of a ball being hit back and forth drew Myka’s attention as she came around the next corner and immediately she developed rigid posture. “How does this constitute as not touching anything? You’re going to get us in trouble!”

Pete barely glanced up from his game of ping pong against, well against himself apparently, as he volleyed the ball back towards the mirror. “Technically I’m only touching the paddle, which best I can tell is not dangerous. Besides this is the best competition I could ever hope for; me against me!”

A loud snap of popping gum sounded to her right. “Oh let him play,” HG intoned lazily as she surveyed the shelves around them. “At least he’s keeping himself entertained enough to maybe stop insinuating that these confusing circumstances are a good premise for romantic interludes.”

For some reason the light rebuke from the flawless girl was enough to tinge Myka’s cheeks pink and something uncomfortable lodged in her gut.

Crowing triumphantly at a solid return Pete retorted, “Uh, I believe the words I used were, ‘Desperate times call for sexy measures, but sure, fancy my lingo up all you want.”

Giving them both another frown that went completely unnoticed Myka stood by awkwardly before latching on to a desperate lifeline. “Anyone seen Claudia?”

Rolling her eyes and snapping her gum again HG shook her head disinterestedly, eyes softening a bit when she noticed Myka’s uncomfortable posture.

“Ummm, I think she said something about checking out the computer lab. Or something,” Pete added rather unhelpfully, his reflection taking advantage of the distraction and scoring easily.

“There’s a computer lab in here?” Myka asked, ever baffled by their surroundings. No answer came, though her question had been somewhat rhetorical. Biting her lip and palming the back of her neck she pretended to find the pair of slippers to her right extremely interesting and then actually became quite absorbed with them as she read their tag. Eventually the young girl made to leave the awkward group, figuring those two probably wanted to be left alone anyway. “Guess I’ll just go look for her then.” She turned away, hoping against hope that she was headed in at least the right general direction.

With Myka’s departure came the return of Helena’s boredom. Deciding she’d had enough of watching Pete play with himself, she turned gracefully and strolled after the curly haired girl.

When Myka heard steady footfalls she turned, meeting HG’s ever confident gaze. “Mind if I tag along?” the girl asked as if she didn’t really care either way.

“Oh I thought you…” At HG’s quizzical look Myka readily decided to keep her mouth shut. “Um, no?”

“Aces.” The English girl smiled, clasping her hands behind her back as they kept up their pace, occasionally pulling Myka towards some curious artifact or another with her hand burning on the girl’s wrist.

 

Their directionless journey was broken up by several incredible discoveries including a full dinosaur skeleton and what looked to be a hybrid boat/flying machine. Eventually though, one lucky turn down a particular aisle led them to a small room filled with whirring and beeping and Claudia.

“I’m pretty sure this is the first computer. Like ever,” the awed girl said in lieu of a greeting. “Meaning the firsts of all modern technology were done on this machine. It’s like witnessing the birth of fire. Oh and I found this cool printout, it’s full of binary codes and stuff.”

“What? Like the first computer codes ever written? Let me see.” HG shoved over next to the excited girl and bent over the paper. They then quickly became more interested in what looked to be the first mobile phone, laughing hysterically over its size.

Myka edged away, a little disappointed when neither girl seemed to notice, though her breathing did come easier the further away from the brash English girl she got. As soon as she found the library Myka sighed with relief, already knowing this would be the perfect spot for her since it was quiet and secluded and already filled with some of her favorite fictional people. The time passed easily as she curled up on the armchair in the corner with a two foot tower of books on the floor next to her.

 

“Claudia, this is taking forever. I’m going to go find Myka and then I’ll be back.” She frowned as she thought about the brunette girl and her frustrating vanishing act.

“Just one more piece and… there, try it now.” Claudia jumped up to watch as HG pressed the power button on the oldest computer known to man and they watched with rapt attention as it slowly flickered to life. “Eek! It’s alive!”

“I wonder why it had been disassembled.” HG mused then shared a confused look with Claudia as the screen stayed blank, a lone cursor mark blinking at them. She hit the enter key to no avail and Claudia seemingly had no luck with her series of complicated commands either.

Claudia frowned with disappointment, halfheartedly hitting the monitor. “Lame. Maybe we should just turn it off.” At that sentence the screen suddenly filled with typed words and both girls leaned in closer to read them.

**Don’t turn me off. Not again. Good this time. Not like last time.**

“What happened last time?” Claudia asked automatically then smacked her head after realizing she was conversing with the machine. At that the computer started sputtering, screen flashing chaotically and both girls stepped back cautiously.

“Let’s just turn it off,” HG agreed. They looked at each other wide eyed with the words that next filled the screen.

**No. Don’t listen to the bad girl. I can help. First you must kill her. Kill the bad girl.**

Claudia hit the power button with harsh jabs while Helena began yanking pieces from the base unit until finally the erratic machine turned off with a loud pop.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say plugging in that Atari system is a no go,” Claudia ventured, smiling to show she was kidding at the look of exasperation from HG.

 

 

“So this is where you disappeared to.” The words made Myka jump as Helena Wells pulled her out of her fantasy worlds. That the dark haired beauty had contemplated her location at all was a matter of confusion for the well read girl who shook her head when she realized she was staring.

“You seemed pretty enamored with Claudia and all that computer stuff so… I just thought I’d explore some on my own.” There. That made her sound more adventurous than she really was.

HG tilted her head, “I didn’t seem enamored enough with you, you mean.”

Myka flushed and her brow furrowed with incredulity while she sputtered, “What? No. I don’t…I don’t even know you.”

“Sure you do. At least your future self does. We were sharing a sofa during that movie after all so we must be comfortable with each other in some capacity.”

Imagining that if future HG looked anything like the present one, Myka knew she would have no trouble wanting to be as comfortable as possible with that captivating presence. “Well,” she began haltingly, “this self doesn’t know you. So I would have absolutely no reason to be jealous or whatever. So I’m not. Jealous. Because that would be ridiculous.”

The other girl looked supremely satisfied for some reason which caused Myka to roll her eyes and return her attention to the book in her lap. As if intrigued HG sauntered over, plopping down beside the seemingly absorbed girl and glancing at the book in her hands. “Treasure Island. Classic.”

“Looks like a first addition,” Myka said, her plan of ignoring the girl vanishing in less than a second and she cursed her propensity for uninteresting comments.

“This place is amazing,” Helena said, after a long silence between them and Myka murmured an affirmation without glancing away from her pages. “Would it be alright if I stayed in here with you? I don’t really fancy wandering about lost again.”

Myka blinked then nodded. “Of course you can. So long as you stop trying to read over my shoulder.” She smiled when HG huffed like that would be a hardship, though the girl obediently rose and after a short minute, settled back down with her own choice read.

 

By the time Pete had made his way around to the library and poked his head warily inside, both girls were in the middle of a long discussion about the deeper nuances of the Narnia series. They were still seated on opposite ends of the couch, but were facing each other and talking earnestly and to be honest neither noticed the boy until he was well inside their newfound sanctuary.

“Oh jeez, you’re a book nerd too?” If it weren’t for his good natured smile Myka would have felt more annoyed or perhaps, in a version she liked better, rushed to her new friend’s defense. He was obviously kidding though so Myka reached her foot out to kick at him, grinning when he hopped around like it had hurt. HG merely rolled her eyes, though only until Myka nudged her with that same foot and something sparked inside her as she smiled with surprise.

“I come here with vital information and this is the welcome I get. I see how it is.” The girls simply looked at him expectantly, certainly not offering up remorse of any kind so he gave them a put upon sigh. “Since _I_ ,” he held up the item in his hand, “am the one with the Farnsworth, it is _I_ that Artie called to communicate with.” He tilted his head, “Actually he called to yell about how far away we were and that we were clearly not together. Then he derailed for a bit when he saw I was in the games aisle, there’s a games aisle by the way which is one part cool and two parts really creepy.”

“Was there an actual message you were meant to relay?” HG asked snarkily and Pete stared at her with mock offense.

“Why is it the hot ones are always the meanest? _Anyway_ , yes, what I was trying to say is we are supposed to meet up in the office. He promised the murderous cards were taken care of. Didn’t really look too happy about that either. And I was making my way over there when I noticed the door was open and, hey hey hey, here you two are.” He took a breath and eyed them with exaggerated intensity. “All nice and cozy, I see.”

There was absolutely no basis to that teasing statement but much to Myka’s irritation she blushed anyway. Leaping up she discarded her book and gestured to the door. “We should probably get up there ASAP. Artie doesn’t really strike me as the lackadaisical type.”

HG eyed her carefully then smiled and moved to follow. “No, he certainly doesn’t. Hopefully Claudia is still with her electronics.”

“You’re welcome by the way, for finding you guys and bringing you along,” Pete muttered loudly as he trudged behind them.

“Right, totally not because you were desperate for company and had gotten yourself hopelessly lost.” Myka turned around and grinned and he couldn’t help but return the gesture.

“Absolutely not. Hey look, a dodgeball!”

 

Finally everyone had made their way back to the front of the Warehouse. HG and Myka stood together still glaring at Pete while rubbing sore soon to be bruises. Claudia had been found in the musical instruments section where they had all gotten appropriately distracted. Eventually though they had assembled in front of an aggrieved Artie who, despite all his research, had not found a solution. Luckily he’d been able to send Steve out on the low level ping that had occurred in the meantime and if an agent on vacation had to be sent out on a work assignment, he was glad it had been the Buddhist.

“Obviously you are all still children.” The four teenagers protested mightily at that word but he took no notice. “And I am not staying awake to babysit all night. Especially not _here_ of all places, so it’s off to Abigail you go. Best I can tell the artifact has no ill side effects besides the obvious so we will resume this in the morning. Or maybe we’ll get lucky and you’ll all wake up as semi-competent adult like people again.” He led the four reluctant youths down the umbilicus grumbling as they went. “And you can be someone else’s problem for the next twelve hours.”

“Shotgun!” Pete cried jubilantly as soon as they stepped outside the Warehouse, racing a suddenly spirited Claudia for the prized front seat and winning by a hair.

Throwing open the back door dramatically Claudia got in first and since Myka was trailing behind HG opted for the middle seat, climbing in gracefully and greeting Myka with a pretty smile as they buckled in.

“Wow, South Dakota is pretty boring,” Pete commented as they drove the thankfully short distance to the B&B.

“After everything we’ve seen today, any landscape more interesting than barren desert would be too much of an overload,” Claudia commented and Pete agreed, turning in his seat to compare notes on everything they’d managed to encounter that day.

HG and Myka stayed quiet throughout the journey; though it was a safe bet that had a lot to do with the way Myka was resolutely turned towards her window, seemingly absorbed in the outside world and ignoring the press of HG’s thigh against hers.

The final turn to the Bed and Breakfast was abrupt, mainly because of Artie’s distraction due to his tirade against the numerous artifacts Pete had managed to come in contact with in such a short span of time. He almost missed the long driveway of the establishment, taking the corner sharply and everyone protested as they slid violently to the right. Everyone protested except HG of course, who used the rough movement to slide herself firmly into the body next to her that was plastered against the door. Even when the car had righted itself she remained close to the off centered girl, noting Myka’s flustered state with delight.

“Oh, how quaint,” she said as the car rolled to a stop outside. Using the guise of getting a better look HG practically climbed into Myka’s lap as she stared out the window. It may have been wishful thinking but she was almost positive she’d heard Myka’s breathing hitch at the movement and she turned curious eyes upon her pretty companion.

The moment would have stretched delightfully except for the interruption of the vehicle’s other occupants getting out and slamming their doors, breaking the haze that had settled over the two of them. Unexpectedly the door on Myka’s side opened and she would have spilled out if not for her seatbelt and the way she instinctively grabbed at Helena for support as she floundered helplessly.

“Dude, come on! You take longer than someone’s mom to get out of a car. The type that uses those windshield screens even if they’re only going into a store for one thing. Jeez.”

 

“An innkeeper is one thing; do I look like a nanny to you?” Abigail asked him with crossed arms from inside the doorway.

“DO I?” Artie questioned loudly, gesturing to himself comically. “The sooner I can get back to the Warehouse without having to watch them at the same time, the sooner we can reverse this and neither one of us will have to babysit.”

“For the last time old man, we do not need babysitters.” Claudia complained as she pushed passed them and instinctively up the stairs.

“I’m confused, you said they were affected by an artifact?” Abigail joked.

“Man, it smells good in here! Are there cookies?” Pete followed his nose to the kitchen and Artie chuckled as Abigail narrowed her eyes.

“Again I ask…”

“Yes, good thing their physical appearances changed because otherwise it’d be hard to tell in some cases. I’m going to go back and see what I can dig up, hopefully have us out of this mess by morning.” He went back to the SUV, passing HG and Myka who were headed in. Waving his Farnsworth in the air he called out to the unwilling caretaker of four teens, “Call me if you need anything. Not that you will, I’m sure everything will be just fine.” Lowering his voice to a mumble he continued, “Four teenagers of the Warehouse. Yeah, I’m sure the night will be smooth as butter.”

 

In the room that apparently belonged to her, Myka immediately set about looking for clues about herself. From down the hall she heard Pete’s happy exclamations about the large television and video game cache and smiled at his excitement.

“My room is boring,” HG complained loudly as she entered the room without knocking. Flopping down to the bed with a wistful huff she turned on her back and eyed the room interestedly. “You certainly do like to read, don’t you.” Myka shrugged where she stood but eyed the bookshelf herself, picking up a few of the more worn copies and thumbing through them. She frowned upon opening one and HG crossed the room to see the cause.

“This one is signed,” Myka showed her with confusion. “But that’s obviously impossible. I’m pretty sure a signed copy of ‘The Time Machine’ would be an almost impossible find and…what?” Helena was looking at the signature and cheekily inscribed ‘This is two you owe me’ with bewilderment.

Shaking the errant thoughts away Helena stepped back. “Nothing. Just, that handwriting looks a bit like mine.”

Grinning, Myka shut the book and put it carefully back in its place. “Maybe it is. You do have the right initials after all.”

“So I do,” HG agreed, stepping back to her comfortable spot on the bed. She kicked her feet lazily, frowning when they hit something just barely hidden underneath the frame. Leaning down she found a pair of boots along with familiar looking socks and pulled them out. “These look a bit like mine as well,” she murmured thoughtfully and Myka came closer to investigate them too.

“Those definitely wouldn’t fit me,” she agreed, blushing as she put their casual position, on the side of the bed she never favored, together with their apparent owner.

Thoughts running along the same track Helena smirked happily. “Curiouser and curiouser.” One of her fingers idly traced along the pattern of Myka’s bedspread, roaming dangerously close to brushing with Myka’s left hand.

“Dinner!” came the rousing shout from the floor below and both girls jumped.

“Bloody hell, do you think we are always called to mealtimes in such an abrasive manner?” she questioned seriously as they followed Pete’s thundering footsteps toward the dining room.

At some point Myka hoped to have a better response to Helena’s wit than her useless laughter, but apparently that was not going to happen anytime soon, though the low chuckle caused the woman in front of her to glance backwards with a conspiratorial smile.

 

Dinner passed by without incident, Abigail mainly fielding questions from the inquisitive young people. She answered as best she could, though having not been around long enough to really give definitive answers to everything, she was largely unhelpful. She did however get away with telling them that the after dinner clean up was always their happy chore, since she usually cooked. Store bought rotisserie chicken and instant mashed potatoes totally counted as cooking, especially tonight.

Afterward the dishes were done they all looked at each other at a bit of a loss as to what to do next.

“Movie night!” Pete exclaimed immediately.

“That’s what got us into this mess,” HG stated wisely, if not a little derisively.

“Well, we’ll stay clear of the Muppet Babies movie then,” he tossed back and she made a face in response, prompting a chuckle from Myka who’d sensibly decided to stay out of it. “Hey!’ he snapped his fingers, “maybe that’s it! We should watch a movie about adults. Maybe that would turn us back.”

Myka winced a little and patted him on the back. “I think that Breakfast Club dvd was an oddity all its own. Besides, there’s not a movie about us specifically so we’d still be in the same boat, just a little older.”

“Yeeesh,” Claudia grimaced while she rummaged through the movie selections. “It might turn me as old as the rest of you. No thanks.” Pete and HG both threw popcorn kernels at her from the bowl Abigail had made before stating she would be in her room if they needed anything, which she fervently hoped they wouldn’t since she now had to be up early to feed a crew of four growing people. She had no qualms about letting them fend for themselves as grown adults, but as teenagers letting them go off to the Warehouse on a breakfast of stale Corn Pops simply wouldn’t do.

“I’m not cleaning that up,” Claudia informed the room as she picked a spot on the floor right in front of the television. Myka sat on the sofa near the back and watched Pete and HG who were now very wrapped up in their decision making.

“I’m not watching a chick flick or anything with subtitles,” Pete insisted.

“I counter your mildly offensive chick flick assumption by nixing anything with more gore than the human body actually holds,” HG countered.

“Guys!” Claudia interjected loudly, holding up her pick and the resulting affirmations made her smile as she slid ‘A League of Their Own’ into the player.

“Do you mind?” Helena asked, gesturing to the couch and Myka shook her head, automatically pulling in tighter to the arm rest on her side. “We are very good at sharing sofas, I think.” She winked and Myka grinned, relaxing her pulled up posture as Claudia turned off the lights and the movie started.

 

Only ten minutes in HG adjusted her position, then moved around again, eyeing the ceiling while she sighed lightly. Eventually her movements caught Myka’s attention and she grimaced apologetically. “Sorry, I apparently get a bit restless during movies.”

Myka waved her off, definitely more interested in the other girl’s antics than following the movie plot. HG analyzed her fingernails, probably wishing for a file and Myka hoped she didn’t leave the room in search of one because she would then probably get distracted and never make it back. Luckily the ends of her hair proved to be interesting enough for the moment and Myka halfheartedly returned her attention to the screen.

That only lasted until Helena apparently felt like playing with someone else’s hair because she bounced onto her knees, scooting over the distance of one couch cushion and twirling an errant curl of Myka’s between her fingers with deep contemplation. “I really like your hair,” she whispered, tugging on the section in her hand and any hope Myka had for actually watching the movie was gone. She smiled shyly at the girl who was sitting so closely now, wanting to scoff because has HG _seen_ her own hair?

Dexterous fingers moved to another lock of hair, this time closer to her face and Myka shivered when the tips of those fingers made tickling contact with the edge of her ear. “What are you doing?” she asked hoarsely, not moving a muscle; partly so those delightful administrations didn’t stop and partly because she was terrified to make any kind of eye contact at the moment.

“Watching the movie,” came the easy reply and Myka actually snorted which caused Helena to giggle loudly.

“What are you guys doing?” Claudia whispered loudly and their simultaneous response of ‘watching the movie’ resulted in a loud burst of laughter from both of the girls on the couch.

“Shhh!” Pete insisted loudly. Low murmurs were their compliance for a little while then, when another round of laughter occurred quickly lowering to muffled noise, he turned around curiously. “Hey, are you two making out back there?” he asked, purely as a joke but Myka flushed bright red and sputtered denials for days.

Helena merely stuck her tongue out, causing him to reciprocate before turning back around to the film. Taking pity on her flustered friend Helena flopped backwards so her head rested on the armrest and genuinely tried to get engrossed in the movie. Fifteen minutes later she decided it would be much easier to watch the movie if she were a bit more comfortable so in that effort she stretched out a bit until her feet hit Myka’s right leg. When no reaction was given the girl wriggled the toes of one foot under Myka, the other foot running lazy short lines over the denim clad leg.

Myka was frozen, barely breathing, her entire being completely focused on the contact between her and the prone woman next to her. She had no way of knowing whether HG was playing with her or was just a genuinely tactile person since figuring that out would require her to look at the girl’s face and she was incapable of said movement so she simply continued to sit in frozen silence, enjoying the sensation for whatever it was.

As soon as HG fell asleep Myka could tell because the distracting movement stopped and then and only then did Myka risk a glance. Her suspicions were confirmed when she noted the closed eyes and steady breathing of her companion, one sock clad foot still resting idly on her leg. She stared at the pretty girl’s relaxed features and lost track of time because when the lights suddenly came on she startled and blinked confusedly. The abrupt brightness also managed to rouse HG who smiled at her sleepily and Myka jumped up, stammering something about being tired and practically raced upstairs to her room, swirling thoughts and feelings accompanying her behind the closed door.

 

It was late. Being in bed at this hour was not a ridiculous notion. That was what Myka kept repeating to herself as she turned another page of the inscribed book she couldn’t keep away from. When muffled footsteps sounded down the hall again she sighed with irritation; half at the interruption to her reading and half at herself for being the type of teenager who was irritated with people up past midnight. As she’d done a dozen times already since settling down with the book her fingers flipped it open to the cover page so she could read the inscription again. A loud thud then echoed throughout the inn and Myka huffed, closing the book and setting it aside as she got out of bed to finally see what the hell everyone was doing. The loud noises of people trying to be quiet met her and she took a step into the dark hallway, intending to make her way towards Pete’s room which, if the blue glow of a television screen was any indication, was the source of all the noise. Before she made it however, she was met with the backlit vision of HG in front of her, trying futilely to tiptoe silently down the hall.

When Helena looked up and saw Myka she jumped in surprise, then tilted her head at the way she was regarded. “What?”

“What are you wearing?” Myka asked with great confusion, assuming correctly that the oversized sports jersey and much too baggy sweatpants had not come from Helena’s personal wardrobe.

The woman shrugged then blushed, piquing Myka’s interest exponentially. “It would seem that my older self doesn’t own much in the way of sleepwear,” she explained and then it was Myka’s turn to blush at the implication. “I mean, she has a lot of those silky slip-like things that feel heavenly but don’t really fit right, unless they’re supposed to be that short and…” She stopped her own rambling with a shake of her head. “Anyway, I thought you were asleep and it was painfully obvious Pete was still up so I asked for something that would keep me a little warmer since I didn’t fancy sleeping in pants or the fuzzy bathrobe I found.”

Myka’s face was scrunched up with mild displeasure and Helena crossed her arms defensively. “Do you have a better idea? What are you doing up anyway?”

Needing Helena to not be wearing Pete’s clothes for reasons unclear to her, Myka tugged the shorter girl into her room, rummaging through the familiar organization of her drawers. “Here,” she said, handing over a long button down. “It’s kind of like a nightgown. And these shorts should fit too.”

Helena took them easily enough before motioning for Myka to turn around.

“Oh,” the girl said dumbly as she complied, clearly not thinking HG had intended to stay, but more than happy with that idea.

“All clear,” Helena said softly as soon as she was done, tugging at the hemline absentmindedly. She noted the way Myka’s eyes automatically tracked up her legs with a small smirk. “Just how tall do you think you are when you’re all grown up?”

“It’s the only one I have that’s that long, so I’m not really sure. Maybe it’s not even mine.”

“It smells a bit different than you do now,” HG noted idly and Myka was really not sure why she was blushing. “Well,” Helena started slowly, “I guess I should let you get back to sleep.” It was half statement, half question and Myka should let her go because she already knows if this intoxicating person stays she won’t get any sleep and she really should be on point tomorrow for the mounds of research they’ll most likely be doing. However, HG was just standing there looking tousled and sleepy and she clearly didn’t want to go back to her own room and who was Myka to deny them both what could clearly be, if the strange boots in the room were any indication, a long standing ritual between them.

“Did you want to,” she finished the question by gesturing to the bed and HG beamed.

“Well since you asked,” she replied, crossing to her supposed side of the bed and bouncing atop it as she pulled the covers back. She settled in comfortably, hair fanning across a pillow in an almost familiar way that made Myka’s heart clench with the immediate need to know if this was a sight she got to see on the regular. “Lights please,” Helena intoned bossily and Myka rolled her eyes even as she fulfilled the request, plunging the room into darkness.

“Myka,” Helena whispered tentatively, breaking the fragile silence that had grown between them once Myka had settled down next to her.

“Hmm?”

“What do you think we are to each other? Our normal aged selves, I mean.”

Myka turned her head to face her companion. “I don’t know. Pretty good friends, I’d guess.” It wasn’t quite a lie. It definitely wasn’t the whole truth but how exactly was that thought supposed to be voiced aloud?

“Yeah,” HG murmured noncommittally. “You know, when I was trying to fall asleep on my own all I kept thinking of was being over here with you. And now I know why.”

“Why?” the tremulous whisper was breathed out carefully.

“Because it is much more comfy over here with you,” she told the charmed girl like it was a long lost secret. “Also, it’s much easier to talk myself to sleep with someone listening, believe it or not.”

“I believe it,” Myka replied with an air of relief, looking to the ceiling once more. “Besides, I’m a pretty good listener so we’re a good match.”

“Well that was glaringly obvious from moment one, Myka. Your looks and my quick wit? It would be a crime for us to not team up I think.”

The fact that HG thought she was the pretty one of their duo had Myka mentally stuttering for a long moment. “Are you saying my wit is slow?” were the words that finally made it out of her mouth.

A yawn accompanied HG’s response, “I’m really not sure what slow wit would even look like on you, so no. You’re clearly the brains of this operation, though I’d like to think I keep you on your toes.”

“Trust me, that’s not a problem,” Myka muttered under her breath, then yawned since those were so very contagious.

Helena abruptly turned onto her side and stretched her arm out. When it hit the body next to her she didn’t pull back. “Is this okay?” she asked with searching eyes, referring to the way her hand rested atop Myka’s stomach, rising with every breath she took.

“Yes,” Myka replied a little breathlessly, even though her muscles tightened when Helena’s hand curled into the fabric of her tank top.

“Okay,” Helena whispered, snuggling down into her pillow comfortably. “Goodnight, Myka.”

It could have been mere minutes or hours upon hours before Myka whispered back. “Night, Helena.”

 

The particular quirk of being the first one to wake was a comfort to Myka Bering. Unbeknownst to her it had definitely served her well on the occasional morning after and was doing much of the same for her now. She woke up slowly, but the second she registered warm, bare skin underneath her cheek her body froze with panic. Instantly remembering who she was in bed with she cursed her stupid unconscious self and its apparent need to seek out a human pillow.

Not wanting HG to wake up with her in this position Myka weighed her options quickly, trying not to get distracted by the girl’s natural sweet smell or the slender arm that was wrapped around her tightly, preventing her from simply sliding away. Ever so carefully she lifted her head again, intending to extract herself inch by inch if necessary. This proved to be a faulty plan however as Helena shifted, pulling Myka closer reflexively. The trapped girl huffed out a breath of frustration but then Helena’s head moved more to the side until she was nosing Myka’s curls. Apparently they tickled because her breathing changed and Myka could tell the moment she woke up, even without seeing the girl’s face.

HG had much the same reaction as Myka, she froze in place before realizing what had happened and let out a low hum that Myka could feel more than hear. The arm around her loosened as HG’s hand came up to stroke through sleep-mussed curls. “Myka?” she whispered, nudging the form still resting atop her.

Myka wondered how long she’d be able to feign sleep for, deciding another couple of minutes ought to do it, but then sneaky fingers pinched her arm and she yelped reflexively. Helena chuckled, wide awake now and Myka rolled away, frowning at the pinch and loss of her sleeping guise.

“Good morning,” Helena uttered with a touch of sleep still in her voice, pulling at the other girl’s nightshirt playfully.

“Sorry,” Myka said automatically, finally gathering the courage to look HG in the face.

“About what?” When Myka simply gestured vaguely in her direction Helena laughed. “That’s quite alright, I feel very well rested. You’re a good blanket.”

“Yeah, well. You make a good pillow according to my unconscious self.” The comeback was lame but Myka was a bit distracted; now that she had looked, she couldn’t look away. Helena laid there, white shirt blending in with the sheets and making her hair stand out in stark contrast. Her dark eyes were still a little bleary and Myka’s mouth lifted at the way her sleepy face portrayed almost a pout. The sheets were pulled too high for Myka to see the rest of the lovely girl, but she could still feel Helena’s bare calves tangled up with hers and a pang of longing to be back in that comfortable spot hit her fiercely.

“Myka.” Her name was barely a whisper but was still the only thing that broke the girl out of her contemplations.

“What?” she asked softly, not understanding the soft look upon the other girl’s face.

“You…” HG started then trailed off, not able to gather the words to describe the way Myka’s gaze made her feel. She sat up abruptly though for what reason she was only vaguely aware of, but whatever she’d been about to do got sidetracked at the sound of the fond laughter aimed at her.

Myka gestured to the side of her face that contained creased pillow marks, which was the source of amusement for the young lady. HG feigned annoyance which put an immediate stop to Myka’s joviality, but only for a moment because in the next breath Helena reached behind her, grabbed her pillow, and swung it hard at a stunned Myka’s face.

Needless to say the rest of their time before hearing the announcement of breakfast from downstairs was taken up by a pillow fight of epic proportions and the girls were still arguing about the victor over their eggs and toast.

 

“Right.” Artie’s stern face observed Myka and HG eating breakfast at the table; the former poring over a copy of the Manual she’d stumbled upon and the latter absently kicking the other’s chair every so often. Each hit prompted a small smile from the one reading though she didn’t look up from her studies. The two still unaccounted for quickly made their presence known as they flew into the dining room in a frenzy of motion and incoherent shouts.

“It was in _my_ room, so it’s mine to play with!”

“Yeah, but the initials on it are P.L. so obviously it’s mine and I want a turn! You probably stole it in the first place!”

“I resent that! And I’m already on level twelve so you can suck it.”

“Artie! Tell her that… Ooh are those donuts?”

Their bickering at a cease fire with the discovery of sugary breakfast foods, Pete and Claudia joined the others at the table and Artie now eyed the whole group wearily.

“Right,” he began again, quickly revising his plan. “I know what Abigail said this morning, but I really think it would be best if I were to go back to the Warehouse to figure this out on my own. You four sit tight and-“

“Oh no. Nice try, but you are not leaving me here with them all day.” Abigail spoke up as she strode into the dining room, setting down a platter of suspicious looking eggs. “You said overnight and overnight it has been. I am pretty sure I got no more than four hours of sleep, due to someone’s Call of Duty marathon, so it’s your turn Papa Artie.” He opened his mouth to refute but she cut him off. “They are rested and fed and ready to go. Have fun.”

“How about a compromise,” Artie tried again, shuffling off to the side with her and adopting a placating tone. “You take two and I’ll take two.” This got the attention of the four youths who had that automatic response of inwardly pleading about who they’d be partnered up with.

“I’ll stay here,” Claudia piped up helpfully, hoping to score a full day of beating level twelve and tinkering with the more curious gadgets she’d found in her room.

The purposefully hard kick aimed at her chair made Myka grin and she met HG’s eyes with a wink.

“And do what with them?” Abigail continued her and Artie’s conversation above the loud partner debates going on at the table.

“You did say there was a lot of yard work that needed to be tended to...”

“I take it back,” Claudia rescinded her offer to stay. “I’d love to go to the Warehouse and be really quiet and helpful. I can type fast too and I promise to only ask like five questions an hour.”

“Don’t listen to her, those tiny little hands would be perfect for pulling weeds. I’ll go to the Warehouse and not touch anything. Probably,” Pete countered which prompted more arguments from Claudia which escalated back into the great gameboy debate.

“Right.” For the third time Artie scanned the group and arrived at a decision, which wasn’t hard given the tumultuous pair and the moderately better behaved pair.

Understanding immediately Helena narrowed her eyes with clear revolt. “No. You can’t punish us simply because we’re the good ones.”

“Hey!” Pete and Claudia voiced as one, but Myka frowned as she ascertained the reason behind HG’s displeasure.

“Sorry. Believe me, if I was doing myself a favor I’d pick…” He looked at the obviously annoyed girls and how Myka was trying to charm HG out of her pout. “Then again, maybe not. You two,” he pointed at Myka and Pete, “you’re with me. Grab your Farnsworths and let’s go.” Pete leapt up gleefully, while Myka departed with a commiserating look towards her left behind friend. “And you two,” he addressed the remaining girls glaring balefully up at him. “Be nice to Abigail and don’t burn anything down.”

He really should have known better.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apparently cannot write small to save my life so this turned into a three parter. Sorry. Next bit will be up tomorrow! I also apparently feel the need to write disgusting amounts of fluff for AU Week which, considering this fandom, is rather fitting. Hope you enjoy!

With only the three of them there was less competition for the front seat, but Myka found herself strangely inclined towards it and raced Pete, winning by a hair even though he’d tripped her out the gate. She punched him with slight affront making him gape at her from the backseat.

“Ow! You punch hard for a girly girl.”

“Thanks. I think.” He made a face to which she retaliated similarly. “And I am not a girly girl!” The harsh defense was quickly downgraded when she hesitantly looked to Artie for confirmation. “Am I a girly girl?”

“I wouldn’t even begin to know what that means,” Artie answered dryly. When Pete snorted Myka crossed her arms over her chest irritably. “However,” their driver continued, “she is by far the best shot out of all of you. And to the best of my knowledge does not spend rainy afternoons painting her nails.”

“Yeah, she’s probably too busy reading.” Pete rolled his eyes but as far as Myka was concerned, that was not an insult and she lifted her chin the slightest bit as they rolled to a stop in front of the large building. Their debate about the merits of comic books as works of literature continued from the car, Myka being threatened more than once after calling them cartoons.

“I’m just saying you couldn’t pay me to read those big novels that take a whole page to describe the setting sun. Spider Man however, is a totally different story and I’d pay good money to see you read one whole issue and not come around to my side, just a little.” His train of thought derailed enough to miss Myka’s incredulous snort. “Speaking of, what’s the pay like with this super secret government job anyway?” Artie’s riotous laughter carried all the way through the umbilicus and continued into the office while Myka and Pete both frowned in commiseration.

“Now what?” The question held more than a hint of exasperation considering the way Artie had started working away at his desk without so much as another word of direction to either of them.

“Now I continue to research anything that could be related to that disc and how to neutralize it. And you two go back down to where this all started and look for something useful. Don’t forget gloves.”

“I really think I would be more useful reading through artifact descriptions up here.” The already distracted man simply looked at her then to Pete who was already heading down to his self proclaimed cave though largely in the wrong direction and Myka sighed. “Fine. But I’m not going to be held responsible for anything he may or may not touch.”

“Gloves!” Artie shouted after her and she held up a pair without turning or slowing her quick clip.

 

“I cannot believe we are stuck here doing manual labor while those two get to go play with wishing kettles and the like,” Claudia complained and Helena silently agreed. The two trudged, with all the anticipation of facing a firing squad, out to the garden shed where the majority of the tools resided.

Helena eyed the rakes and half filled bags of clippings with distaste. “It’s not that I mind getting my hands dirty,” she uttered as if Claudia had accused otherwise. “But I’d much rather it be with metal and grease than leaves and,” her eyes fell upon the bags of manure, “that.”

“Same,” Claudia sighed miserably. She perked up a bit upon noticing the archaic leaf blower sitting next to an even older looking lawn mower. “I bet that would get the job done faster,” she uttered and when HG saw what she was referring to they moved towards it with matching grins.

 

Much later the computer keys in Artie’s office were getting a harsh workout as the increasingly frustrated man searched fruitlessly for answers. “No… what are you two doing here?!” Artie was pulled away from the computer as HG and Claudia barged into his office.

“Abigail dropped us off. I don’t think it’s a mistake she didn’t come in to deliver us herself.”

“I told you not to burn anything down! What did you destroy?”

“Nothing!” Twin claims of defense met him, though Claudia could only keep up the guise so long.

“How were we supposed to know a slight power surge would catch the leaf blower on fire? That thing was too touchy, we were only trying to amp up the power by like twenty five percent.”

“It was a ridiculously outdated machine,” Helena added glibly while glancing around the office hopefully.

Claudia peered over Artie’s shoulder with obvious interest. “Any luck so far?”

“Do I look ecstatic about figuring out the solution to turning you back into grown people?”

“Is that a trick question?” she retorted, only getting a loud harrumph in response which she took with a grin.

“You know, a little faith wouldn’t be completely unwarranted,” HG stated for the record as she watched him shoo Claudia away from the desk. “We do work here for a reason after all.”

“Trust me,” he began with a slight patronizing tone, “you in particular do not want to venture down those tracks. And besides that, you don’t even want to be up here in the first place.” He pointed to the door, “Down past the library looking through the other movies. Go, go, be gone.”

He caught the tail end of narrowed eyes as HG pivoted away and then turned his withering attention upon the redhead who was attempting to type over his shoulder.

“You aren’t cross referencing eighties material? Dude.”                     

 

“We have to be in the right place, look at all these movies. There’s got to be at least one with similar properties to The Breakfast Club disc and that will give us a clue on how to neutralize it.”

“Or we could let a hurricane loose,” Pete replied while gesturing towards a copy of Twister with the cane he’d picked up when they’d first hit the entertainment section.

“You mean a tornado. And no, we couldn’t.”

“Alright,” he sighed unhappily. “But if there’s a Star Wars trilogy in here somewhere I’m letting you know right now I will be touching it. Without these stupid gloves.” He brandished the cane like a lightsaber, making Myka duck more than once to avoid the wild swings.

“Would you stop playing with that? You shouldn’t even have it in the first place!”

He waved his purple fingers at her mockingly. “I’m wearing the gloves. Besides it’ll come in handy in the event we find any musicals.” He attempted a two step that had Myka laughing despite herself and then she scolded him good-naturedly when he drew her into a badly executed swing number that almost made them fall all over the place.

Several minutes later, “Ooh Avatar!”

“Pete.”

“C’mon, imagine a blue Artie! Tell me that wouldn’t be hilarious.” As he walked the aisle he also kept trying to balance his weight on the cane while kicking his feet together in the air but the only result was him almost spraining an ankle twice.

“You won’t have to imagine him blue in the face if you don’t stop messing around!” She knew he wasn’t listening but at least for the next few minutes he was silent and she was able to read the next few artifact descriptions in peace.

“Myka!” Her name was lengthened in a sing song tone and she looked at the interruption warily. “Did you happen to love pink sparkly cartoon ponies as a child? Want to see them come to life?”

She looked at the My Little Pony boxset longingly but ultimately shook her head. “Way too much singing,” she explained, but he’d already moved on.

“Oh this one we’ve got to try.”

“We really don’t. And that’s a cane, not a baton. Stop tossing it up in the air.”

“Please Myka! I want to fly around the Warehouse in a balloon house!” He switched the cane out for the dvd case of Up, throwing it into the air despite Myka’s shouted warning. As expected it came down, clattered on the floor, and immediately formed into a full sized house, complete with hundreds of balloons emerging from the chimney.

This time there were no shouts of reprimand, just a look of disbelief that had Pete cringing even further away from the explosive scene. “To be fair that could have fallen off the shelf on its own.” The house started to lift an inch off the ground and Myka knew any and all recriminations would have to wait.

“Where are you going?” Pete shouted after her as she turned on her heel and raced away. When she returned lugging a leather case his head was tilted back and they watched the house rise even further.

“It’s an eighteenth century dart set,” she explained at his questioning expression. “According to the tag this will stop if we can pop a line of balloons all the way into the center.”

Brandishing a rather long dart freshly dipped in purple goo Myka took aim at the rapidly rising house and threw it. They both watched as it made a long arc that didn’t have any chance of even hitting the broad side of the house, let alone any balloons. Pete looked at her with disenchantment and she threw up her hands defensively. “What? It’s not like dart throwing is an elective choice or something. You try!”

Grabbing another dart he made to throw it before Myka stopped him, sprayed it down with neutralizing solution, and then motioned for him to carry on. By now the bottom of the house was clearing the tops of the shelving and it managed to knock a couple objects down in its swaying wake.

“Pete!”

The boy nodded at her urgent tone before taking two steps, aiming and throwing the dart with all his strength. They watched as it sailed high, hitting the first balloon with a satisfying pop before gravity brought it down into the fray and it disappeared in a frenzy of loud bursts. Suddenly a loud bang erupted from above and the whole house collapsed in on itself while every balloon exploded until there was only a single one left that floated slowly down between the two wary people. It lingered there for a moment and Myka wondered if they might need to cover it in solution but just then it popped with a startling bang that had both of them scrambling back. When they looked at the floor all that was left was the dvd case, no trace anything else had happened besides the spilled objects on the ground.

Pete let out a whoop and high fived Myka who was grinning back at him. Their celebration was only temporary as they quickly realized they’d need to find a way to put those artifacts back up on the top shelf. They looked at each other then back up with puzzled squints.

 

“Perhaps this could be of some assistance?” Helena asked as she strode towards them with a tall ladder in tow.

“Helena,” Myka beamed with pleasant surprise and the generally surefooted girl stumbled and nearly dropped the ladder, much to her chagrin. Pete rushed to take if from her, climbing up while the two girls stared at each other by the lower rungs. “How’d you get out of gardening?”

“I served my time and they let me off on good behavior.” Myka’s eyebrow raised and Helena glared petulantly, but without heat. “Fine. We nearly set fire to the whole backyard by attempting to improve the leaf blower.” Myka chuckled, her laughter increasing when Helena pouted defensively. “It would have improved it if not for that little power surge. The wiring got a bit tricky.”

“Uh huh,” Myka replied unconvinced as Pete stepped back down carefully.

“Looks like you two had a bit of fun yourselves,” HG noted curiously and they both shrugged.

“Nothing me and Mykes here couldn’t handle.” He slung his arm around her shoulder which she allowed though not without a hard look sideways. “Artie is lucky he’s got us because we’re so simpatico we’re off the charts.”

“Brains and brawn,” Helena supplied with a teasing smile for Myka. “And here I thought you and I were the magnificent team of two.”

Myka blushed but managed to come back with, “I don’t know, I think we’re seriously lacking in the English charm and wit department. We might have to recruit you.”

HG quirked her brow, “A threesome?” then turned speculative. “It just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Besides, what’s that they say about threes and crowds?”

Pete coughed. “Let the record reflect that it was not I who brought up the threesome idea first.”

Myka was already shaking her head and shared an eye roll with HG, kicking herself for not seeing where this would lead before she’d opened her mouth. “You wish.”

“Oh, I do. I so do.” The faraway look on his face made Myka laugh and smack him out of it. Her smile was replaced by a sudden flurry of butterflies as Helena tugged her out from under Pete’s arm, tucking the girl close to herself with a possessive air.

“You’re both assuming I share well, which would be a mistake.” She tugged at Myka again just because she could. “Your looks and my quick wit, right?”

“Right.” If that word came out half as smitten as she felt it did, she’d volunteer for the gooery assignment next time it came around. Or make Helena take it instead since maybe some of that purple gunk would stand a chance against those blazing dark eyes. Luckily Pete at least seemed oblivious to the charged air around them.

“Whatever. You want to play it that way then fine. You’ll just have to hope you don’t find yourselves in need of a superior dart thrower.”

“I bet I can find a picture of you around here somewhere and get some practice in,” Myka countered and where normally Pete would have at least tried to come back with something clever, he was now tracking something behind both girls with rapidly widening eyes.

“Duck!” he cried out in warning and Myka complied immediately. Apparently the girl beside her was more of the ‘turn to assess the dangerous thing before taking defensive action’ type and Myka yanked HG down in the nick of time. A static ball blazed over their heads, bouncing off the shelves with crackling energy.

“Thanks,” HG breathed as they stood up cautiously, “What the hell was that?”

“A static ball. Sometimes the artifacts kick up too much energy and it forms into… what?” Myka asked the two people staring at her oddly. “I started reading the Warehouse Manual,” she defended with an almost haughty air. “Thought it might come in handy.”

“Dork,” Pete coughed into his sleeve and Helena smacked him without looking.

“Don’t you have a cane that needs returning, grandpa?” Myka chastised and HG smirked at the put upon look he adopted.

He backed away from them with wounded parting words. “Don’t think I don’t see what’s going on here.” A bolt of panic ran through Myka and grounded her to the floor until he continued. “You two are just going to sneak off into your little library world and forget the rest of us actually trying to find a cure. It’s appalling, it really is.”

Myka’s protestations were drowned out as he turned the corner and shouted back, “You should be ashamed of your slacker selves!”

“Says the guy who would have gladly stayed inside to play eight hours of tetris in his underwear,” Helena muttered snidely and Myka giggled, tugging her jacket cuff playfully.

Turning back to the shelves Myka said, “I’m glad you came along. Maybe now I can actually make some headway.”

“Headway,” Helena replied quickly. “Work. Yes. Right. On it.”

After Myka returned from putting the darts back they worked in tandem, occasionally mentioning funny or very disturbing movie titles and their supposed powers.

Myka winced at the next title she came across. “This copy of Romeo and Juliet makes whoever watches it feel like they’re in love; no matter how unlikely or unwilling the pair would normally be.” She made a face and backed away from that section like it held a deadly contagion. “No thanks.”

Helena was lost in thought, wondering if perhaps another artifact could be affecting her. Maybe one that would give her intense feelings for someone she had only just met. She shook her head, remembering the amiable movie watching that had gotten them into this mess. Whatever she was feeling was most likely remnants from her older self. It wasn’t a hard thing to imagine, falling for someone like Myka Bering and if she aged as well as she hoped she did, she would definitely be the kind of person to take notice of that.

A lengthy sigh interrupted her musings and she turned toward Myka questioningly. “I’m not finding anything that looks even remotely useful,” the girl complained with a touch of irritation.

“Oh really? I think I’ve found something interesting.” Helena smirked and ran a purple finger down the spine of the clearly marked X-Rated film in front of her. When Myka came closer to see what it was she blushed and looked at Helena with blame clear upon her features. “What?” Helena’s face smoothed over and Myka watched with unavoidable interest. “I said interesting, even if not entirely useful for this particular situation.”

The only retort Myka had was the shaking of her head as she tried not to smile. “You are unbelievable. What is it even supposed to -” She cut herself off with a more decisive head jerk. “No, I don’t even want to know.”

“Are you sure?” Helena questioned and the low, velvety register of her voice had Myka suddenly breathing heavily. “Like I said, it could come in handy should you ever need -”

“I’m sure!” Myka practically squeaked, fairly sure her face was going to be sunburned from the hot blush she couldn’t will away for the life of her.

HG laughed brightly; apparently nothing charmed her quite like teasing one Myka Bering into such a flustered state. Before she knew what she was doing she reached out and tucked back the hair that Myka was desperately trying to hide behind. “Sorry,” she murmured, though Myka’s sideways look was evidence the girl rightfully didn’t believe her.

“Yeah, yeah. You just better watch yourself or I’ll leave you alone in the Chucky doll aisle on the way back.” Myka was trying for foreboding but her tone ended up being much too indulgent to get away with that and HG grinned.

“You wouldn’t.”

“I might.” Myka was not looking at her but Helena could see the hint of a smile and it softened her insides until they felt largely unworkable.

“You wouldn’t,” she repeated, softer this time and the surety in the tone garnered Myka’s attention beautifully.

Green eyes locked with dark brown ones and Myka’s breaths turned so shallow and unsubstantial she feared hyperventilation, which may or may not have been less embarrassing than the dumbstruck look she was sure to be wearing.

A loud buzzing sound stole their attention away from each other and they looked up to see a white ball of live voltage headed straight for them.

“Watch out!” Helena shouted, instinctively throwing herself and Myka into the nearest stack of shelves as the ball of electricity whizzed by them, rebounding off some shelves to their right and then up into the ether that was the Warehouse ceiling. The pulse of static energy had been hot on her back as the thing missed them by inches, but Helena was now experiencing a very similar feeling on her opposite side. She’d unknowingly pushed Myka hard into the shelves, pressing up against her in a cringe when the ball went whizzing by. However the danger was gone and they were still pressed closely together, chests rising and falling rapidly with the burst of adrenaline.

Myka knew she should move, but her muscles weren’t cooperating, probably something to do with HG’s intoxicating proximity that was becoming more unnecessary by the second and still neither girl moved.

“Your turn to save me.” The words were spoken with a bit of a rasp and Myka was a bit astonished she managed them at all with her suddenly dry throat and shallow breathing. She could feel the unyielding surface behind her and the rest of her awareness was eclipsed by the feeling of Helena holding her in place, warm and solid and so breathtakingly close.

“Mmm hmm,” HG hummed, “I think that makes us even.” Her eyes had unconsciously drifted to Myka’s slightly parted mouth and she was certain that she wouldn’t be able to move, even if another static ball came hurtling towards them right then.

“Maybe we shouldn’t keep track,” Myka breathed, grateful for the solid surface at her back since her legs were feeling ever so wobbly. Perhaps due to her height Myka made a habit of not looking people square on, each time she did she tended to get focused on the way their eyes would sometimes dart away and she’d feel self conscious for the imagined slight. Helena though, Helena with her intense dark eyes could pin you down with just one look and it was impossible to escape her attention if you were what she so desired. Up close that warm searching gaze, lingering and then darting away only to return a second later, would make Myka supremely uncomfortable. Now though, she found herself melting underneath it and couldn’t look away, couldn’t blink, so she simply stared back, wide eyed and flushed.

“What should we do, then?” HG’s voice was low and hypnotic and Myka practically whimpered in response.

She really did let out a small breathless sound when Helena’s fingers came up to stroke her neck, then scratched down until they met her collarbone where haphazard shapes were etched as if Helena was the one entranced . Myka was certain that if she didn’t get a reprieve, whether it came in the form of more contact or less, she would actually combust. Her eyes fluttered shut and she gripped the material of HG’s shirt in one tight fist. “Helena,” she whispered helplessly, pleading for the girl to end this delicious torture.

After gazing upon Myka’s beautiful face for a moment longer Helena mercifully gave in to her desires. The first press of their mouths was quick, as if testing the waters and Myka had no time to register it before Helena had pulled back an inch, giving her that hot searching stare again. Whatever she read there must have been reassurance enough because Helena leaned back in, pressing her lips to Myka’s fully this time.

In her whole life Myka had never wanted to be as good at something as she wanted to be now, which was very unfair because it was almost all she could do to stay upright with how dizzy she felt. Helena’s mouth moved over hers again and this time Myka kissed back, opening her mouth and feeling grateful for her height for the first time in forever as it gave her delicious leverage. Her inner perfectionist thrilled when Helena gasped, she must be doing something right, and Myka smiled when she felt fingernails digging into her forearm.

Any smugness she might have gained disappeared the second Helena licked at her bottom lip and Myka’s mouth opened automatically even as her knees turned boneless. Even without her memory she knew she’d never been kissed this thoroughly in her life and groaned appreciatively at the slide of the other girl’s tongue around hers.

When they finally parted it took Myka a bleary second to clear her vision but when she did Helena’s sparkling eyes were the first thing she noticed, matching the wide smile on her face.

“What’s that look for?” she whispered, licking her lips in order to recapture the ghost of pressure she could still feel on them.

“I just get the feeling I’ve wanted to do that for a very long time,” Helena replied, as simple as that.

“Really?” Myka smiled, pretty and hopeful with that shy undercurrent still remarkably beneath the surface.

“Mmm hmm,” she nodded decisively while thumbing soft lines over Myka’s cheek. “What about you, feeling anything in particular?”

“Actually no,” Myka replied and Helena narrowed her eyes until she added, “You’re lucky I can talk after a kiss like that, let alone have the wherewithal to think actual thoughts.” She grinned through her teasing, noting the relief on Helena’s face that quickly turned to playful disdain; her locked jaw offset by glittering eyes.

“You think you’re clever.” Her quirked brown clearly indicated she thought otherwise in that moment.

Myka smiled at the truth and the indulgent tone. “I think,” she pronounced slowly and Helena’s breathing responsively quickened as she stepped in close again.

“You… think what?” Helena whispered breathlessly, distracted by the fingers currently running lines through her hair, tickling her scalp and causing her to shiver hard.

With that Myka forgot what she’d been about to say and instead husked out, “I think I want to see you do that again.” Their mouths met determinedly this time and it didn’t take long for Myka’s desire to come to fruition, especially when her mouth found the sweet spot on Helena’s neck.

When they broke apart it took HG a moment to realize they actually had stopped since her awareness continued to be threatened each time she registered the feel of the still kissed-wet skin on her neck.

“If our older selves haven’t been doing this, they’ve really been missing out.” Myka stated, hoping against hope other Myka was worldly enough to recognize and take advantage of the HG situation even more than she had.

“I’ll say,” Helena agreed emphatically. “Though since no one has mentioned anything, if we have been more… intimately involved I think it’s safe to say we, or rather they, have kept it quiet.”

“So we should probably follow suit so as not to out ourselves.” Myka followed along and HG nodded.

“Discretion is the better part of valor and all that. Having said that, perhaps we could relocate to…” The girl looked around hoping for a familiar landmark. “Ah, yes. Perfect, follow me.” She paced a few steps away, pausing and holding out her hand when Myka hesitated and the girl smiled as she took it, no longer caring where they were headed so long as she didn’t have to let go.

 

“Claudia. To what do we owe the pleasure?” HG asked through the Farnsworth screen and if the generally put together girl was a bit disheveled Claudia was none the wiser. She paused as Myka wedged her head into view from where they sat together on the library sofa, her eyes squinting adorably.

“What is that?”

“A ferret!” The words were proclaimed with glee as Claudia held up the squirming animal. “From a wishing kettle. A wishing kettle. This place is so cool.”

“A kettle that grants wishes?” Helena asked skeptically, exchanging a look with Myka, though when she noted their close proximity her eyes unhelpfully strayed to the girl’s mouth, her own quirking up slightly.

“Yeah, like Aladdin’s lamp, but without the genie. And when you make an impossible wish, it gives you a ferret!”

“That must be where mine came from,” Myka deduced with a tiny air of relief.

“Aww well now he’s got a little buddy. Pete wants me to name him Falcor, but I think I’m going to go with Pan. And also narrow down my wishing parameters because one fluffy little white responsibility is enough for me. Apparently invisibility is off limits though there might be an artifact…” She trailed off with a gleam in her eye.

“Where is Pete?” Myka interrupted warily, wondering exactly how long it would take to get to them before Claudia went on a mad search for Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak or something.

“Oh,” Claudia grinned wildly. “Turns out that while invisibility is a no go, a fifteen foot tall ice cream sundae is a completely reasonable request. It looks like the inside of Willy Wonka’s edible room over here. Last I checked he was trying to climb to the top to dub it Mt. Lattimer.”

“For heaven’s sake.”

“Good grief.”

The words were uttered with varying levels of fond distaste. “We should probably…” Myka began and then trailed off, her attention easily won over by the captivating woman beside her.

“Right,” HG agreed, though not without a large smirk. “Claudia, we’ll be right there. And for goodness sake don’t make any more wishes. One errant rodent is more than enough.”

 

One wrong turn and three hormone fueled detours later, the girls arrived to the scene they’d been able to see from two aisles away. A giant mountain of ice cream awaited them, complete with a cherry on top, which Pete was making steady progress to, shoveling the dessert into his mouth with a little spoon as he climbed.

“This is your way of trying to find a cure. Working hard at it I see.” Helena’s words were full of disdain but Myka merely looked at him curiously.

“What are you eating with?”

“It’s the first Baskin and Robbins pink spoon. As long as you eat with it, you won’t feel full,” Claudia explained at their confused faces. “Or get an ice cream headache,” she added as she read the description screen. “Though the downside is that you’ll crave sweets more than usual for a little while.”

“And there’s no way I could do that more than I already do so, haha artifact, joke is on you!” Pete crowed as he dug the plastic spoon into another mound.

“Dig in guys, this mountain isn’t going to eat itself.” Claudia produced two more spoons, letting them know she’d asked the kettle for three normal and safe eating utensils and the artifact had happily complied.

“I think I’ll pass, I don’t really eat sugar. Not to mention it’s probably a really bad idea to eat artifact food.” Myka frowned at the copious and rapidly melting ice cream. Her attention was promptly stolen as Helena strode over to what looked to be a boulder sized scoop of chocolate chip. She dug her spoon in and sucked the cold desert of with a flourish.

Noting Myka’s shocked look she grinned and sunk the spoon back in, offering it to the girl who shook her head. “C’mon Myka,” she drawled wickedly. “Live a little.”

The dubious girl shook her head again, eyeing Claudia some feet away who had at least six different flavors piled on her spoon and was trying to fit the whole thing in her mouth at once. Helena shrugged and popped the spoon into her mouth then went back in for more. She held the spoon out to Myka again and this time added a small pout. Sighing with great exasperation Myka reluctantly opened her mouth, figuring if the other three were going to die from some magically formed ice cream side effect, she may as well go with them. It tasted like regular ice cream at least, which was hopefully a good sign. HG smirked, the kind of irritating smirk that told Myka she knew she’d be able to entice her into eating some all along. Which was mildly annoying in that she was right more than anything.

“I live just fine,” she retorted, sticking her finger into the strawberry looking pile next to her and making to wipe that smirk away. HG however turned her head away and the sticky mess landed right in her perfect hair making both girls freeze.

“Oh, Myka.” The words were uttered in the most pitying tone anyone had ever heard and that’s when the cry of ‘food fight’ happened from somewhere above them.

 

“What did you do?” Those are the only words spoken when the foursome returned to the main office in a disheveled manner.

“Nothing.” The word is spoken plainly and as one.

“Did you clean it up?”

“Yes.” Luckily the same artifact that had created the ice cream mountain had also been able to remove it, though some evidence still remained on their persons.

 

This time during the drive home Myka was still desperately trying to ignore Helena sitting so closely because she was afraid of what she would do if the girl slid into her one more time. The way those dark eyes were burning into her weren’t helping either and Myka was sure it hadn’t taken this long to get back to the B&B yesterday. Finally they arrived and Artie left without exiting the car like the afraid of Abigail’s lectures type person he was.

Pete and Claudia headed inside right away and changed out of their sticky clothing while Pete continued telling her about his earlier escapades as they came downstairs in search of the source of that garlic bread smell.

“So then we got the balloons to burst and…” he trailed off, increasingly more interested in what he saw out the window. “Holy Mother of Hotness! Are those two making out on the back porch?”

Claudia scrambled up and practically pressed her nose against the window. “OMG, they so are.” She eyed the entwined women with a pleased demeanor. “Hot. I’d like to say that I called that, but I’m equal parts surprised and impressed.” She exchanged a wordless fist bump with Pete before her eyes widened and she spun around. “Woah! And we so should not be watching that.” When she noticed Pete had yet to turn his back on the girls; it looked like HG was ensuring the last errant trail of ice cream got cleaned off of Myka’s neck and doing a thorough job of it, she grabbed his arm and tugged him backwards.

“Pull yourself together, dude.” She motioned to his bug eyed expression, “They probably don’t want anyone to know because of reactions like that. Although,” she added, looking outside again, “they aren’t exactly being covert at the moment. Jeez, they know these windows are see through, right?”

“What’s got Pete all flustered,” Abigail asked pleasantly when they entered the dining room. She set a pot of spaghetti down on the table and looked at them expectantly.

“Nothing! No one!” Claudia insisted, shooting Pete a sharp look.

“Did someone ask him to work out large sums in his head again?” Helena asked brightly as she came in through the door, Myka trailing somewhat dazedly behind.

“Ha, good one.” Claudia spoke up quickly, her act of nonchalance falling more into a bundle of frenetic awkwardness.

“Well, dinner is ready if you’re hungry,” Abigail said kindly and headed to the kitchen after a long and wary look at the oddly behaved teens.

“I may not be able to calculate pi in my head but I do know that one,” he pointed to Myka, “plus one,” then pointed at HG, “equals...” He started to make an intricate hand gesture that Claudia quickly covered up.

“Two!” the small girl proclaimed loudly. “Yes, it does. That’s good, glad to know the ice cream headache or lack thereof hasn’t ruined your calculating skills. Wow, howza bout some dinner, huh? Even after eating desert first, I’m starved.”

Myka eyed the still pantomiming guy with confusion, unsure of what he was trying to communicate but certain she wouldn’t be happy about it regardless. “Yeah,” she began cautiously, “hot solid food sounds really good about now.”

“If it’s all the same I think I’ll skip dinner, too much ice cream,” Helena spoke up and Myka wrinkled her nose sympathetically. “I’m going to shower, try and get some of this out while I can.” She picked at a sticky section in her hair and frowned, throwing Myka a surreptitious wink before leaving to go wash up.

With a hard elbow to Pete’s ribs Claudia was able to stop what was sure to be unnecessary commentary about what they’d seen and the way Myka's eyes tracked up the stairs. Rolling his eyes at her insistence he mimed zipping his mouth shut and instead led the group to dinner with queries about garlic bread.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff. Disgusting AU amounts of it. Ah well. I'm sure I'll make up for that at some point. This is in no way my headcanon for anything, just a bit of fun to write. Hope you enjoy!

“You’re becoming predictable,” Helena said from the doorway of the small B&B library.

Myka looked up with a comeback quick on her tongue then did a hard double take when she noticed Helena’s attire. The white button down was the same from the night before, but now it was paired with a simple pair of black boyshorts which apparently made all the difference in the world. Her eyes trailed up practically endless slender legs before meeting HG’s dark gaze knowingly. “You’re going to give Pete a stroke if he sees you like that,” she scolded, moving over in the large recliner invitingly nevertheless.

Helena beamed and tripped lightly over, settling herself down into Myka’s space with a sigh of contentment. “It’s not really Pete’s reaction I care about.” The words were meant to be enticing but the second she’d sat down, half on top of Myka with the girl’s arm wrapped around her, a warm sated feeling had overcome her, not unlike a purring housecat in someone’s lap and she murmured the words into the material at Myka’s shoulder sleepily.

“It’s not?” Myka asked with faux astonishment, automatically threading her fingers through recently washed dark locks. She was steadfastly ignoring the warning beacon going off inside which was telling her that cuddling out in the open like this was probably not the best way to keep things under the radar. The distant familiarity of their positioning was helping this dismissal and when Helena burrowed more solidly into her side she turned a deaf ear on the alarm altogether, déjà vu almost overwhelming the present. “I think we’ve done this before,” she whispered and Helena mumbled in agreement.

“I can see why, you’re very comfy. How was dinner? Miss me?”

“Always.” The word flew out of her mouth automatically and Myka frowned. She hadn’t even realized she was going to say it before it was out there and the weight behind it made her sad in a way she didn’t understand. Pulling HG closer seemed to be the only balm that would do and the ready fix had her internally breathing a little easier. “I think we may need to revisit some research on artifact foods. Pete and Claudia were both acting really weird all night.”

“More so than normal? Oh dear, that is serious.”

“Yeah, Pete asked me if I wouldn’t rather cut my spaghetti up with scissors. And then he laughed for like a half an hour while Claudia rambled on about some ancient culture that apparently preferred eating that way, though I’ve never heard of anything like that. Have you?”

Helena shook her head against Myka’s shoulder. “No. That does sound odd though.” She smiled, “Maybe there’s something in the Manual about it.” Tickling fingers met her side unforgivingly and she consequently yelped and batted them away.  

In an attempt to keep quiet Myka stopped, sniffing a final laugh out through her nose before turning back to the book in her hands, intending to pick up where she’d left off before being so wonderfully interrupted.

After a moment of contemplation Helena spoke again, her chin resting on the top of a pointed shoulder. “Myka. We don’t have to share your room again tonight, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Who said I was worried?”

Helena shrugged with a yawn. “I just figured you were whiling away your time down here instead of your room because you weren’t sure what to expect.”

Denials were on the tip of her tongue but eventually Myka dismissed them, her silence and halfhearted shrug enough of an answer.

“It’s okay,” Helena assured her. “I can try out my own bed tonight. I just wanted to come down and see you before I went to sleep. And now I have.” She kissed the girl’s cheek and made to get up but Myka’s arm tightened around her and the sound of protest that accompanied it had her settling back down with a smile and questioning eyes.

“No, I don’t mind. I just didn’t know if… if you would want to. And what it would mean if you did. Or didn’t.” Her eyes widened as she began to stutter, “Not that I was expecting anything to happen.”

Helena chuckled, twisting around to face the flustered girl. “Myka, relax.” She watched as the girl attempted to do just that, smiling at the lower lip that was being chewed on nervously. “You have a remarkable way of making me forget myself, however I don’t think it would be wise to take things any further while we’re in this transitive state, no matter how tempted we might be.”

Myka blew out a big breath and relaxed a bit more. “Right. It’s a good thing you’re the brains because I’m right there with you on the tempting thing.” She pulled on the bottom of that button down reproachfully, making Helena laugh delightedly. “Speaking of,” Myka tugged again, “we’ve probably pressed our luck enough for one night and it’s only a matter of time before Pete comes down for a midnight bowl of cereal.”

With all her weight behind her Helena collapsed into Myka with a groan of reluctance, kissing the girl’s neck sweetly before standing up and offering the still seated girl her hand.

The blue glow from both Pete and Claudia’s rooms illuminated them when they reached the division of their rooms and both girls looked as if they were about to part for weeks instead of just the night. HG took a breath and walked Myka just inside the doorway to her room then kissed the back of the hand still held in hers. “And here is where I will bid you goodnight, my Myka.” Casting a careful look down the hall she leaned in quickly and gave Myka a soft kiss, squeezing their hands together before slipping into her own room with a murmured, “Sleep well, darling.”

Myka stayed put for a long moment before shutting the door with defeat. As she pulled on her pajamas her mind rolled over Helena’s last words to her. That casually said but reverently given term of endearment had a way of loosening a tightly coiled spring in Myka and the girl wondered whether or not Helena knew that. Probably, was what she decided upon with a touch of amusement.

 

A good twenty minutes later and Myka had remarkably gotten herself into her bed, but was still staring across the hall. The muffled sounds of whatever action flick Pete had on played in the background while she waged an internal war with herself.

At the sound of another televised explosion she sighed heavily, flopping down onto her back then turning her head back to the door across the hall. She wasn’t sure how long it was after that that the sounds and faint glow disappeared from Pete’s room, leaving the B&B silent and dark. She couldn’t make out a light under Helena’s door anymore, though she was still facing that direction and after another moment of silence she could take it no longer. Climbing out of bed, resolute now that she’d made her decision, she glanced into the dark hallway cautiously before tiptoeing across the small expanse and cracking open HG’s door as quietly as possible.

The lights were off but the curtains were open, making it easy for Myka to find Helena’s bed as she shut the door behind her. Her first step landed on a squeaky board and she winced dramatically, eyeing the bed’s occupant cautiously. Her attempt at stealth had all been for naught as Helena sat up, having clearly been still awake herself. “Myka? You okay?”

“I…” the girl started, but lost her words. Fortunately Helena took pity on her and pulled the covers back knowingly. Myka clambered in, fumbling a little in the low light. “Just because we aren’t going to sleep together,” she reasoned, stating aloud the thought that had been enticing her for the better part of an hour, “doesn’t mean we can’t _sleep_ together.”

“I heartily concur,” Helena said and as soon as Myka laid down she made quick work of using the girl as her personal pillow, wrapping a possessive arm around her slim waist. “That’s much better,” she mumbled into that now familiar space between Myka’s neck and shoulder.

“Definitely,” Myka agreed, sleepy now that she was finally where she wanted to be. “Goodnight, Helena.”

“Goodnight, my darling Myka,” HG whispered back and Myka smiled. She definitely knew.

 

When morning came Myka found herself in exactly the same positioning as the previous one, only this time she didn’t have to tamp down panic of any kind. Instead she sat up and found the mirror on the opposite wall. Satisfied that her hair wasn’t _too_ unruly she stretched leisurely, also happy to find no traces of drool about her either. Gazing down upon the still sleeping girl next to her she knew it really would be a crime if she didn’t get to have this as an adult. Maybe she could write a note to future Myka, though if that’s what it took she feared deeply for the upcoming years.

Her musings were interrupted by HG’s stubborn attempt to stay asleep. The girl mumbled something before burying her head firmly into her pillow, grabbing at Myka’s arm in order to tug her back down.

“Good morning,” Myka greeted a touch too brightly and Helena groaned, still hiding her head and pulling the covers up around them more snugly. Wanting to take pity on the tired girl, but too awake herself to completely comply Myka began to tuck dark silky strands of hair back behind HG’s ear, the motion just as pleasant for her as it was the slow to wake girl.

The positively unnecessary slamming of a door down the hall was enough to fully pull Helena from the last vestiges of sleep and she looked towards her own closed door incredulously when they heard the pairs of feet running past. “There is no possible way we live here as grown people. I refuse to believe it.”

“Maybe they mature with age,” Myka reasoned, but one doubtful look from HG was enough to cave that optimism. She nudged the languorous form next to her with a smirk. “Well, we don’t know that we are together like this in the future, remember.”

Helena’s face turned serious. She looked up at Myka and shook her head. “No, we _must_ be. It’s the only way I can explain how intensely I feel for you after such a short period of time.”

Myka merely frowned and squinted at her and Helena sat up, swiftly palming the girl’s cheek. “I didn’t mean it like that,” she assured, kissing away the unintentional slight quickly. “It’s just, it hasn’t even been two days yet and you’ve completely become the center of my world. And while it’s not difficult to see why,” she stated with a tap to Myka’s nose, which wrinkled delightfully, “I do think there must have been some sort of undercurrent between us to bring us together like this so quickly.” She glanced around the sparse room in which there hadn’t been much to glean aside from her terrific taste in clothing. “I get the feeling I’m not close to many people, my real self I mean. But with you, it’s effortless. That’s got to mean something.”

“It probably does,” Myka agreed. “However, there’s no way to find out until we find a way to reverse this so for now I’m just going to go with the fact that I’m completely crazy about you because of your charm, dry wit, stunning good looks, and that adorable absentminded way you run your hands through your hair.”

The enamored look directed at her in return made that embarrassingly decisive statement totally worth it and Myka smiled happily, knowing she probably looked like a lovesick dork at the moment but really not able to help it.

“Is that all?"

“All I’m willing to state for the record at this time,” Myka returned primly, then backtracked. “Wait, one more thing.” She leaned in and kissed Helena slowly, staying there until she absolutely had to pull away. “That’s all.”

HG was panting a little as she eyed the smug look about Myka and decided she liked it. “Oh, that is so not all.” She lunged and playfully pushed Myka down into the sheets, capturing the girl’s laughter with her mouth.

 

It took a slamming door and the gruff sound of Artie’s voice sounding downstairs to break through the haze in Myka’s mind. Blearily she tugged on the sleeve of HG’s shirt, trying to hold to the vestiges of thought before the girl’s tongue could wipe it away.

“We should go down there. If Artie’s already here he may have found something.”

“They can wait,” Helena replied against the skin of Myka’s neck, kissing her way around expertly enough to make the girl forget other people even existed. That worked for another few minutes, until Pete’s booming voice could be heard as he stampeded up the stairs.

“Yo, sleeping beauties! Rise and shine, Artie wants us all downstairs pronto!” He unknowingly chose the door to Myka’s unoccupied room to pound on and they both fervently hoped we wouldn’t try to barge in. “Up and Adam! I’m not going to stop knocking until you get up,” he threatened and both girls laughed when they heard the exclamation from a quickly approaching Claudia.

“Dude. First off, it’s up and at em’. As in, get up and at the day. What would up and Adam even mean? Second, Abigail told me to tell you breakfast is on.”

The argument in defense of his misused phrase was muffled and the next thing either HG or Myka heard was the muted tones of Claudia from the hall. “Guys? Um, he’s gone. Just in case one of you needed to make an escape. Not that I’m assuming you’re together… in any sort of capacity.” They looked at each other a little panicked then back towards the door when she continued. “Wait, you guys are actually still here, right? Right?”

Helena reluctantly disengaged herself from the girl beneath her and crossed to the door, opening it just a crack. “Good morning, Claudia. Thanks for the kinder wake up call. I assure you we will both be down momentarily.”

“Helena!” Myka hissed from the bed, contemplating throwing a pillow at the indiscrete girl.

The conspiratorial woman rolled her eyes. “What? She obviously knew something was afoot already. And she’s not going to tell anyone, is she?” She glanced at the gleeful redhead who gestured an emphatic no, then twisted her face apologetically.

“Well, I didn’t tell him, but Pete totally saw you guys making out last night so… there is that. But we agreed not to say anything, so you don’t have to worry.” She watched HG trade a look with a wide eyed Myka who twisting the bed sheet anxiously. “Seriously, it’s no big deal. I promise not to say anything and we’ll all work on containing Pete’s juvenile hand gestures for a few days.” She pointed at them and bounced up on her toes excitedly. “Maybe not even that long because Artie is here and he thinks he’s found the way to turn us back!” She took a step closer and looked through the gap in the door with a grin. “You guys are so cute.”

Now Myka really did throw a pillow, not that it had a chance of hitting Claudia at all. The girl yelped and backed away with a laugh anyway. “Jeez, alright. Not cute in any sort of adorably smitten capacity. Though for the record you may want to tone down the googly-eyes when you come downstairs.”

Helena scoffed after shutting the door then turned back to Myka with a predatory edge. “Well, now that the cat has one paw out the bag, where were we?”

“Oh ho ho no, that tempting mouth of yours has already gotten us caught in no less than twenty four hours.” She leapt up and dodged the approaching woman who frowned endearingly. “Don’t even try to claim innocence, you’re the one who practically jumped me on the back patio.”

“That is not how I remember it,” Helena retorted emphatically, but watched Myka slip out of the room with a bright smile anyway.

 

According to Artie’s theory all they had to do was go back to the Pete cave and finish the movie. Supposedly they’d been whammied somewhere in the middle and now had to watch it through to the end and then bag the disc, which would hopefully return them to their rightful state.

Abigail wished them luck, she was headed to Featherhead to pick up Steve from his successful retrieval, who begged them not to turn back before he got there. However, when Pete broke in and begged Steve to smuggle them into a hip gay bar it was agreed that sooner would be better.

Therefore, all four of them plus a watchful Artie found themselves watching the popular eighties film in exactly the same positions they’d been in when this all started. The movie was drawing to a close when HG kicked at Myka from her side of the couch. “I need to talk to you,” she whispered rather urgently and when Myka saw the seriousness about her she requested a bathroom break pause and followed the girl out into the empty corridor.

“What is it?”

“I suddenly realized we may not remember anything from this time after we’ve changed back.”

“I suppose that would make sense-Oh!” The idea of forgetting the last two days made her unaccountably sad, but there was really nothing to be done about it. “It’ll be okay,” she promised but HG looked doubtful. “No, it will! We’ll have to trust that our future selves are just as hopeless for each other as we are.” She watched Helena square her shoulders and nod as if convinced and felt that familiar tug of affection well up inside. “Just in case though…” She pressed their lips together with a smile, almost hoping in that moment that Artie’s plan wouldn’t work and they could stay in this whammied state forever.

Once they parted Myka grabbed Helena’s hand, still needing a physical link. “C’mon,” she said with eyes exaggeratedly widened in hopes of winning a smile from the worried girl. “Let’s go get old.”

“Wait,” Helena begged, tugging on the hand in hers. Myka came back to her easily, concern filling her face at seeing HG’s desperation. “What if this all goes away when we turn back? I don’t want to lose you.”

Myka nearly looked down to make sure she hadn’t melted where she stood. Thumbing over Helena’s face gently she stated with every confidence, “You won’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I can’t believe you could be any less alluring at any age or in any reality we find ourselves in. Which means,” she continued seeing the other girl’s still dim expression, “I will want you just as much, if not more than I do now. Well, probably not more,” she rambled on, “that would be an impossibility because I really-”

She was cut off as Helena pressed their mouths together again, wrapping her arms around Myka’s neck dazedly. And Myka pulled her closer still, as if by increasing their physical proximity she could will herself to remember this and keep all of this just as close as the girl pressed fully against her.

From inside the room Pete groaned as he watched through the blinds. “Oh jeez, at this rate we’ll be Benjamin Buttoned forever.”

“Can we just finish it without them?” Claudia asked the older man who was resolutely not looking away from the screen.

 

Apparently his answer had been a yes because not long after a bright light covered all four of them and the two coupled women broke apart with twin gasps. When their eyes cleared they each took in their familiar adult forms and from the exalted yells coming from the office it had worked on Pete and Claudia too.

Out in the hall Myka simply stared at Helena until the woman uncharacteristically looked away which normally would have been more than enough to cause an awkward moment between them. However this time HG’s last words as an adolescent were repeating through her mind and before she could talk herself out of it Myka placed her hand on the inventor’s cheek and pulled her into a sweet kiss that lingered upon the small breathless noise HG made.

When they parted Helena looked at Myka for a long moment, her throat working soundlessly and eyes shining with so many unspoken words she’d been holding back. “I know,” the other woman said simply and that was all it took. Helena surged up, initiating another kiss, this one becoming more insistent when she mirrored her younger self, wrapping her arms around Myka’s neck and pulling down greedily.

She’d like to think she’d gotten better at this physical part, but put careful focus in the way her mouth fit to Myka’s regardless, pulling away just enough so that when she pushed forward again the friction was deliciously addicting.

The other woman seemed to think so too if the way she whimpered and pulled Helena closer was any indication and soon they were backed up against some shelves, kissing madly in an embrace that was both familiar and not.

Eventually they were able to get a hold of themselves long enough to part though their bodies stayed pressed tightly together. “What are you thinking?” Helena asked softly, trailing fingers over the curve of Myka’s jaw.

“That it should be completely impossible that kissing you can make me feel even more now than back then because… wow.” She swallowed hard, at a loss for a way to express just how much she was feeling.

Thoroughly charmed Helena managed, “I agree and am very glad my haphazard ideas of finding a way to keep us ‘whammied’ were unrealized.”

“Me too,” Myka agreed and Helena watched her eyes begin to pool. “Because back then, hell even three years ago, I had no idea I could ever love like this. The way I love you.”

The honest revelation surged between them and Helena’s eyes fluttered shut with the force of her emotions. “Myka,” she breathed the name with unspeakable wonder laced throughout it and clutched at the woman’s shoulders for purchase as her world rose like a tidal wave before crashing blissfully back into her.

 

“We’re sure this isn’t residual artifact-ness, right?” Pete questioned, for the sake of not wanting a whammied partner, even if she did look stupid happy out there.

Claudia snorted in disbelief. “You’re kidding. They’ve practically been sharing the same physical space ever since HG came back and, not that I would know, but I don’t think they’ve managed to spend a night apart since then either. Pete’s eyebrows navigated upwards until they were practically at his hairline and Artie made a show of covering his ears. “Oh jeez, not like that. Just like, sleeping in the same room. Juveniles.” Pete just shook his head like that wasn’t any better and the girl gave up. “Whatever. I’m just saying that that,” she gestured to the women who were pressed closely together, foreheads touching gently, “has been a very, very long time in coming.”

“That explains so much about the Mopey Myka times last year.” He scrunched his face up and ran through his memories. “Oh and when HG first came back the third time,” he tilted his head, “or the most recent time, whatever. Her whole, ‘I’m back, that is if you want me, to be back, I could be back. Here that is. With you. All of you.’ I thought that was odd, even for Victorian English time traveler speak.” Artie and Claudia merely made stilted movements of nodding and shaking their heads and Pete gave up. “Anywhoo, I’m glad we got that sorted and now that we’re back to our pre-‘honey I regressed the kids’ stage, I say we should celebrate. Who wants ice cream?”

“Yeah, about that, how is it that this dvd even came into your possession at all,” Artie began suspiciously. “It was supposed to be on the shelf and I know it didn’t just grow legs and convince you to watch it while you all should have been working.” Pete and Claudia needed no more prompting to rush for the door, Artie following as quickly as he could.

“Technically it was our day off,” Claudia threw over her shoulder as the three largely ignored the fact that the two missing from their group had disappeared somewhere.

“For all four of you with Steve on vacation,” Artie huffed behind them. “I don’t think so!”

Wincing guiltily Pete checked his pockets for his wallet. “Meet you at my car, Artie. Ice cream is on me and I’m driving now that I’m old enough again!”

“Shotgun!”

“You can’t call that ‘til you get outside,” was Artie’s final cry as they disappeared around a bend.

 

 

“Why do you think it took us turning young to finally get together?”

Myka shifted upwards against Helena’s chest as she thought about that, lips skimming along bare skin that she’d just spent an indulgent amount of time discovering. Her mouth sucked at just the right spot on that pale neck and Helena shivered in response, weaving a hand through Myka’s hair who smiled and gave it a nip for good measure.

“I see some things don’t change,” she uttered cheekily and received a playful tap to her nose. After that there was no stopping the needful meeting of their mouths so it was a long while before Myka could answer. She propped up her chin on her hands which were stacked over Helena’s heartbeat as she tried to come up with the right words.

“The undercurrent of our feelings was still there, only there was no basis for it. Add to that basic attraction and teenage hormones …” She trailed off, pointedly kissing the skin next to her hands.

It was quiet for a moment while Helena contemplated something and Myka thought about letting her fingers begin to roam again until the quiet woman spoke up. “I was thinking that without our wretched history, without so much in between us, it was so very simple for us to be together.”

“Maybe,” was all Myka would allow and she expected the body tensing beneath her, rolling off and up when it did.

“It could have been like that before.” Helena’s words were ablaze with her certainty as she sat up as well and it was clear she had done some thinking about this particular venture in their lives. “Before Yellowstone. Back when I was first reinstated, we could have… I know you would have. If I hadn’t been so consumed -”

“Then you wouldn’t even be here,” Myka cut in gracefully. “Seriously,” she cut off what was sure to be another diatribe. “I told you before that I was right for believing in you. And since then there’s been near explosions and unleashed evils and you; gone again. Then you were finally back and Artie tells us in that other timeline you died and I didn’t, I don’t have the first clue on how to process that besides becoming your own personal stalker because I can’t breathe fully without knowing you’re nearby in tangible, corporeal form.”

In reassurance of that last point she slid her hand across the rumpled sheet to grasp Helena’s like a lifeline. “I was wrong before. When I said I couldn’t feel more for you than I did. I was wrong because I didn’t even know you. I still cared for you so much, but I didn’t even know you and how brilliant and strong you are. And yes, we have a past but don’t you see how it’s gotten us here? Here where I can know you, know everything about who you are, good and bad. I wouldn’t trade knowing you like this, better than anyone else, for anything in the world because all of that is the reason I can love you so infinitely.”

“I almost didn’t come back.” The confession was ripped out of her and Helena looked almost fearful at its release. Myka only smiled though and pulled the woman close.

“I know. I think that may be the main reason I felt the need to keep tabs on you. I knew being here was hard on you sometimes and I was so scared at some point I’d come back from a retrieval to find you gone.” A shudder ran through her and Helena swiftly pulled her close, drawing the sheets up higher around them.

Her eyes closed as she listened to the sounds of Myka’s inhales and subsequent exhales, letting them ground her. Eventually she was able to match those breaths with her own, the rhythm calming her and Myka’s weight against her calming them both.

“It’s still a lot to handle sometimes,” she murmured quietly. “And I will still have days, especially on some of those close call retrievals or the odd rainy Thursday, where I will want to leave, to flee this place in order to keep you at bay, to keep you safe from me.” She could feel Myka’s want to speak and sat straight up to prevent it, needing to say what she was about to while she still had momentum. “But,” she began slowly, almost lightly and Myka stared at her with all the love in the world which made her next words so much easier. “I am not afraid to love you anymore, Myka Bering. Which means I am going to stay here, for as long as you’ll have me.”

It was a much needed reassurance; that much she could see from the way Myka’s breathing hiccupped and green eyes turned into mossy pools when she murmured, “I love you so much.” She kissed the overcome woman’s cheek, her shoulder, the side of her neck. “So very much, Myka.” Her adorations continued until she returned to that lovely face, kissing away the few tears she found there. Then lips found wanting lips in a locked embrace that made time slip away from them again.

 

Myka would have to remember to thank Pete for keeping everyone out and away from the B&B as long as he had. There was no way an ice cream date alone would have afforded them that much time so it was not surprising to finally hear their return; buoyant and not a little reminiscent of their most recent mornings together.

She shifted comfortably against Helena who lolled her head sideways dramatically. “They’ll be brimming with questions about the nature of our relationship, I suppose. Probably come banging down the door any minute now.”

The overdone fraught tone made Myka smile and forgetting the threat of intruders was simple as she gazed at the woman beside her. “And what exactly do we plan on telling them?”

“Well hopefully seeing as they are once more competent adults we won’t need to tell them anything, darling.” A wicked smile crossed her face and Myka gazed at it with inescapable enchantment. “Unless I am wrong to assume telling them exactly what the simple feel of you against me right now is doing to me would be too much detail?”

Myka tried not to smile. “Yes,” her brow lifted sternly even as her eyes sparkled tellingly. “That would be an unnecessary comment, though you can feel free to tell me that as much as you’d like.” By the end of the sentence she’d maneuvered close enough to capture the teasing woman’s mouth, licking into it with newfound confidence.

Footsteps on the stairs broke them apart and Helena looked at Myka who was now happily on top of her. “Time to face the music?” she asked with a gesture to the door.

Myka took in the disheveled form beneath her then leaned down so slowly that by the time their mouths met Helena’s had formed a curious smile.

“They can wait.”


End file.
